While this post has NOTHING to do with instructional design, we can loosely affiliate it with education – namely, mine! For many years, I have purchased “paperwhite” bulbs for family and friends at Christmas. The bulbs grow into flowers within about 6 weeks after the holidays and become the first glimmer of spring during the bleak Midwestern winter.
Over the years, we’ve tried a variety of ways to “force” the bulbs, but the recommended approach that you find online is to place the bulbs over rocks in a container with just enough water to cover the base of the bulbs. Sounds easy enough. However, we’ve discovered that if the container is too shallow, the weight of the plant tips it over. Therefore, this year I bought mason jars. This seemed to do the trick.
My only new trial this year involved putting alcohol in with the water. I heard a suggestion a few years back that alcohol helps to keep the plant from becoming spindly, which is just another way of saying the alcohol stunts their growth. See kids! Your mom was right!
Since it seems I’ve finally landed on a formula of bulb, vase, and rock that I like, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned from trial and error so others can try it next winter:
- Bulbs: I’m likely overpaying, but I like the quality of bulbs I get from Easy to Grow Bulbs.com. I was too late in placing my order this year and ended up with what they deem to be less desirable Paperwhite Ziva (14/15 cm). I ordered the 50 Pack (item: 33605-50) and gave each person 3 to 4 bulbs. I guess the flowers are a bit smaller than other years, but I thought they were just as lovely – maybe not as fragrant.
- Vase: This year, I bought the Ball Wide Mouth Quart Mason Jars in a 12 pack from Menards. Again, the added height seemed to help them stand up.
- Rocks: This year, I tried marble stone that I picked up on my trip to Menards. The stone came in a huge bag that was far more than I needed for the 12 jars, but it’s less expensive than other alternatives and looks nice in the clear jar.
- Alcohol: The jury is out on the benefit of using alcohol in the water. I put about a shot glass of vodka in with the water, and my paperwhites were far slower to bloom than others who didn’t use alcohol. That said, the shorter (stunted) stems didn’t fall over, so that’s a positive over some years.